Air & Space Smithsonian – September 2019

BATTLING

FOR ISRAEL,

VOLUNTEERS

FOUGHT IN AN

AIRCRAFT THAT

SHOULD HAVE

BEEN GROUNDED.

had propelled the Bf 109, was no longer available, so

Avia installed the heavier but less powerful Junkers

Jumo 211F, the same engine used in the Luftwaffe’s

versatile Heinkel He 111H medium bomber. To

match the Jumo engine, Avia mounted the Heinkel’s

massive oar-shape propeller, which would turn

out to be a dangerous combination for the small

airframe of the S-199. For the clunky fighter, Avia,

not surprisingly, found no buyers other than the

Czech air force.

But in the spring of 1948 another customer

appeared. The nascent state of Israel was poised

to declare its independence. Looming on Israel’s

borders were the armies of five surrounding Arab

countries, ready to invade the new nation. Israel

urgently needed weapons, armor, munitions, and,

especially, military aircraft. Neither of the world’s

two largest owners of surplus war assets—the United

States or Great Britain—was sympathetic. The U.S.

Department of State strictly enforced the Neutrality

Act, which banned the sale and shipment of war

materials to countries engaged in armed conflict,

such as Israel. Britain’s government was even less

Though beautiful to look at, the Avia S-199 was an

operational nightmare. Rushed into combat during

the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the fi ghter confounded

pilots with ruinous torque.

September 2019 AIR&SPACE 57

HARRY WHITVER